06/28/13 06/28/13 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] >> from pacifica, this is democracy now! i was calling, trayvon, trayvon. i hear him saying, get off, get off. >> let me stop you. what did you say? >> i was saying, trayvon, trayvon. >> what did you hear? >> i kind of heard it saying, get off, get off. >> trayvon martin's friend testifies about the last time

she heard his voice, just moments before the 17-year-old unarmed teenager was shot dead by george zimmerman. we will get the latest on the zimmerman trial. then the senate passes an overhaul of the nation's immigration laws. it creates up at the citizenship for millions while adding unprecedented new border security measures. >> some of the legal, it is unprecedented, the decision that was taken by democrats and republicans this week to militarize the border. this is not the reform we asked for. >> the obama's arrive in south remainss nelson mandela in critical condition. yesterday they visited goree island. all of that and more coming up. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman.

the senate has approved the long-awaited immigration reform bill that creates a path to citizenship for millions of undocumented immigrants while imposing unprecedented measures for new border security. 14 republicans join a united democratic caucus to pass the bill by a vote of 68 to 32 including an amendment that radically expands enforcement along u.s. mexico border, spending $46 billion to nearly double the number of border agents to 40,000, expand the use of drones, and construct around 700 miles of border fencing. the measure faces an uncertain fate in the house where speaker john boehner says he will not allow a vote without the majority support of republican members. we will have more on the immigration bill later in the broadcast. the latest disclosures from nsa documents leaked by edward snowden to the guardian show the u.s. government collected bulk metadata on the e-mails of millions of americans for about 10 years.

under a program that fell under the overall nsa domestic surveillance operation known as stellar wind, the government swept up information including e-mail accounts and ip addresses, but not the content of the messages themselves. the program began my targeting e-mails with at least one party outside the u.s., but expanded in 2007 to domestic messages. the obama ministration continue the effort after taking office before shutting it down in 2011. the disclosures confirm the claims of william bennett, the career nsa official turned whistleblower. he said the nsa took an electronic surveillance or graham he developed and used it to conduct mass surveillance on national scale free at he resign from the nsa in 2001 in opposition to what he called illegal spying reedit according to the guardian, the collection of internet metadata appears to trigger the famed march 2004 confrontation in the hospital room of then attorney general john ashcroft and he refused to sign off on the reauthorizing

the warrantless surveillance program. ecuador is defiantly resisting u.s. calls to reject edward snowden's asylum bid. on thursday, the ecuadorian government said it would waive preferential trade right after u.s. so visuals -- officials suggested they could be revoked. in washington, u.s. trade representative michael froman said the obama administration will evaluate ecuador's eligibility for trade benefits. his comments came one day after democratic senator robert menendez said the welcoming snowden would severely jeopardize u.s. relations with ecuador. the ecuadorian president said his country's dignity has no price. >> all of a sudden, trade tariffs became black male. behave or leave the free trade movement. ,n the face of threats

arrogance of certain u.s. sectors, which have pressure to remove the preferential tariffs because of the snowden case, ecuador tells the world, we unilaterally and irrevocably denounce the preferential tariffs. our dignity has no price. >> is government followed up with a dig at the obama administration by offering to donate millions of dollars for human rights training in the united states on matters of " privacy, torture and other actions that are denigrating to humanity." later in the day, he said ecuador cannot evaluate snowden's asylum bid until he is within ecuadorian territory. snowden is believed to remain in transit area of a moscow air work. speaking during his is a to senegal, president obama said he expects other countries to hand snowden over without having to resort to diplomatic wrangling but played down talk of an international rift over the fate of snowden create >> my

continued expectation is that russia or other countries that have talked about potentially providing musters snowden asylum recognize their part of an international community and they should be abiding by international law. we will continue to press them as hard as we can to make sure that they do so. but one last thing, because you asked a final question, no, i am not going to be scrambling jets to get a 29-year-old hacker. crocs edward snowden's leaking of national security agency documents appears to have come after a major change of heart on the issue of government whistleblowers. an online chat logs from 2009 release this week, someone using snowden screen name criticized the disclosure of classified government information saying those who do so "should be shot ." the criticism came in response to a new york times article

about leaked information on cyber attacks in a ran. a former top ranking pentagon general is reportedly undergoing investigation for leaking the information that publicly exposed the u.s. cyber warfare operation against a ran. nbc news reports retired marine general james cartwright, the former vice chair of the joint chiefs of staff, has been notified of a justice department probe into whether he leaked information to the new york times on the computer virus known as stuxnet. the u.s. used it to sabotage the systems at iran's nuclear facilities but in doing so, accidentally set off a computer worm across the global internet. cartwright returned -- retired from the military in august 2011 reedit in opposition group has put the deaths of the civil war at 100,000. they added up the daily killing since the conflict began in march 2011.

the family of former south african president nelson mandela says his condition remains critical but stable. his daughter says he is responding to touch but is also a warning that anything is imminent. southent obama arrives in africa today to continue his three nation african tour reedit speaking thursday, obama paid tribute to mandela's legacy. >> i've had the privilege of meeting with his family and speaking to him and he is a personal hero, but i don't think i am unique in that regard. i think he is a hero for the world. if and when he passes from this place, one thing i think we will all know is that his legacy is one that will linger on throughout the ages. >> the surviving suspect in the boston marathon bombing,

dzhokhar tsarnaev, has been indicted on 30 counts including the murders of four people. the u.s. attorney unveiled the charges in boston. >> the indictment alleges that dzhokhar tsarnaev is responsible andthe deaths of four maiming, burning, and wounding scores of others. reflect theges serious and violent nature of the events that occurred on april 15 and the tragic series of events that followed. the defendants alleged conduct forever changed lives. the victims, their families, and this community have shown extraordinary strength and resilience in the face of this senseless violence. hundreds ofth the injured as well as the victims in this case in mind that we proceed to seek and make sure that justice is served. >> dzhokhar tsarnaev could face

the death penalty if convict did. the indictment includes details on what he allegedly scribbled inside the boat where he was captured in a boston residents backyard. referring to attacks on muslims by the u.s. overseas, czarnecki said to have written part -- governor rick perry has launched a personal attack on state senator wendy davis just days after her nearly 11 hour filibuster thwarted republican effort to close most of the states abortion clinics. "for the nation's largest anti- choice group, kerry invoked davis's own experience as a teenage mother born to a single mother. >> the fact is, who are we to say that children born in the worst of circumstances and not grow to live successful lives? in fact, even the woman who filibustered the senate the other day was born into difficult circumstances.

she was the daughter of a single woman. she was a teenage mother herself. she managed to eventually graduate from harvard law school and served in the texas senate. it is just unfortunate that she has not learned from her own example, that every life must be given a chance to realize its full potential, and that every life matters. and tarnishignity the high office he holds. they are small words that reflect a dark and negative point of view, she said read. specialed the second legislative session to revive the bill that davis and her supporters defeated earlier this week reedit for full coverage of the filibuster as well, go to democracynow.org. in ohio, pro-choice advocates gathered at the state capitol thursday to protest sweeping antiabortion measures in the --.e budget reedit

people later shouted "shame on you" as lawmakers passed a budget that would effectively shift funds to defect of -- impose restrictions that could shut down clinics and require providers to detect any fetal heartbeat and then tell the patient about it before an abortion. the budget is in the hands of the governor who is anti-choice. the u.s. is suspending trade preferences for bangladesh, citing concerns about safety labor violations in the bangladeshi garment industry. the move follows a wake-up public campaigning spur spur by the factory collapse that killed over 1100 garment workers in april and a fire that killed 112 people last november. on saturday, activists are gathering in new york's petrus enough square to pressure retailers that have refused to sign onto a safety cord for bangladesh refractories making their products. the targeted companies include the gap, target, and walmart reedit secretary of state john

kerry is holding talks with israeli and palestinian leaders as the obama administration seeks to revive stalled negotiations. on the eve of his visit, israel announced the construction of dozens of new homes and east jerusalem settlement. palestinians are comparing it to when netanyahu's government oversaw settlement homes in the vice president joe biden. congressional lawmakers are expecting to miss nest week deadline to prevent the doubling of interest rates on government-backed student debt. to low income students are said to rise monday from 3.4% to 6.8%. the rate would equal the percentage paid by students with unsubsidized loans read the impasse centers around bipartisan differences over whether to cap interest rates on consolidated loans and whether government profits from the loans should go toward paying down the federal deficit. although lawmakers expect to

miss the deadline, senate democrats say they will hold a vote as early as july 10. last month the congressional budget office forecast a profit of $50.6 billion from the intereste it charges students college debt. elizabeth warren has proposed a measure that would lower student loan interest rates to .75%, the same rate given to big tanks on government loans. those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. welcome to all our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world. the trial of george zimmerman entered its fifth day in florida, the neighborhood watch volunteer is charged with second-degree murder for the killing of trayvon martin last year, and unarmed african- american teenager. zimmerman's lawyer admitted zimmerman had shot martin, but claimed it was in self-defense after they had had a fight. three former residence of the gated community where martin was

killed testified that they saw someone who appeared to be zimmerman on top during the fight. twinursday, a former lakes resident testified she heard this couple behind her home and heard someone yelling for help. a neighbor testified the person was on top was the one who survived the fight come and that he got up and walked away after the gunshot was heard. >> the jury also heard from the woman who was on the phone with trayvon martin just before he died. 19-year-old high school student rachel jeantel describe the final conversation to prosecutors. >> i was calling, trayvon, trayvon. i heard him saying, get off, get off. >> let me stop you. you said something, what did you say? >> i said, trayvon, what is going on? >> what did you hear? >> i heard trayvon say, get off, get off.

then suddenly the phone hung up. it shut off. >> when the phone shut off, what happened then? >> i called him back. >> you called trayvon martin back? >> yes. >> were you able to talk to him again? >> no. >> rachel jeantel described what trayvon martin had said about the man who was following him. >> i asked him what the man looked like. he said he looked creepy. >> creepy ass cracker? ok. crocs is thatt what you recall him saying? is that mean a white individual? >> yes. >> what did he say after that? >> he told me the man was looking at him.

i thought maybe he was a racist. >> defense attorney don west questioned rachel about why she characterized the murder as wer racial. >> what is one thing that made you think this was racial based on what trayvon told you? >> describing the person. the person that was watching him and following him. >> describing the person is what made you think it was rache racial? >> yes. >> and that is because he described him as a creepy ass cracker? >> yes. >> it was rache racial, but bece trayvon martin put race into it reedit you don't think that was racial? >> no. >> you don't think creepy ass cracker is a racial comment?

>> no. those sites had conflicting views of zimmerman's motives of the night of the shooting last february. prosecutor john guy said zimmerman, neighborhood watch volunteer, have profiled the 17- year-old a suspicious and chose to assume the role of a police officer and follow him. he quoted zimmerman's own expletive laced words to dispatcher. >> good morning. ] punk. they always get away. those were the words and a grown man's mouth as he followed in the dark a 17-year-old boy who he did not know. excuse my language, but those were his words, not mine. >> defense lawyer don west argued zimmerman killed martin because he feared for his life after the teenager smashed zimmerman's head on a sidewalk,

which he suggested constituted a deadly weapon, the sidewalk. west told the jury a knock-knock joke in which for later he apologized. who was there? george zimmerman. george zimmerman who? all right, good, you're on the jury. nothing? that is funny. >> zimmerman faces up to life in prison on charges of second- degree murder. his trial is taking place before an all-female jury. five out of six are quite. we are joined by daniel cadet, editor of huffington post black voices. talk about what has happened in this trial so far. >> i think the most significant moment starting with the opening statement, i think the prosecution really started very strong in terms of repeating

george zimmerman's words. i think their tactic is really to portray george zimmerman as a vigilante. -- i think for the attorney to open with expletives drove that point home very early on in the trial. i think is the trial has gone along, the state witnesses have been integral reedit i think rachel jeantel's testimony is seen by many as the prosecution's key witness. and the residence as well, their account of what they saw and what seemed to have taken place that evening. it is difficult because it was dark and raining, and a lot of people did not want to get close to the situation so a lot of just the description of what took ways that evening whether it was what voices were heard or the tone of the voices, the aggression.

who was on top i think the testimony yesterday was important. when the neighbor pointed out the individual on top was wearing some kind of red clothing, that was the first time someone ever identify the person on top was george zimmerman. he had on a red jacket. that was very telling and a little chilling when she described him straddling over the body. rachel jeantel's testimony is incredibly important. being the last person to have any interaction with trayvon martin and being able to say, trayvon knew he was being followed, i think is a huge part and probably one of the biggest takeaways from this week was rachel jeantel saying trayvon knew he was being followed and tried to lose whomever this individual was.

he said to her, "he is behind the." i think of the individual is able to take her testimony and drive home the point that ,rayvon was not the aggressor but the other way around, or if they're able to say maybe there for don west to say, maybe there is a chance that trayvon martin walked up to zimmerman and kind of picked a fight. i think there were some really inconsistencies of what took place. up until now, we have only had audio and a small amount of evidence for individuals to do on their own. ,> rachel jeantel's testimony that was probably the most dramatic part of the first days of the trial. the prosecution, as you would expect of her prosecution, was extremely confrontational with her and some of the questioning.

the issue as they tried to make differences in the testimony now versus what she had said in previous conversations with police? >> absolutely. i think that is where the defense is holding onto. they need to present rachel jeantel as though she is not credible. that is going to be the prosecution's biggest challenge. the fact she lied about her age and did not go to the police, the fact she did not come to the funeral or the wake, they need to present her as though she is not credible and that her testimony is a little off. because of the importance of her being a friend of trayvon and her being the last individual literally to speak to him in the last moment of his life, she is an incredibly important witness.

the defenses tactic is going to be to show that she is not telling the truth because she has not before. i think that is really what don west was trying to do as he was saying, in your deposition you said this and now you're saying this. >> one issue was she said she was in the hospital for why she did not go to the funeral. it rachel responded she'd was a shame she had not gone and was afraid to see his body or his parents not understanding until then that she was the last person to speak to their son. >> exactly, exactly. emotionalicularly part of her testimony. she was visibly upset as was tracy martin. >> the mother? >> the father. he was wiping tears away read rachel herself was very upset. you could see she was

uncomfortable with the factual is on the stand, on television for the first time and her name was all over television, radio, just nationwide at this point. >> look at what she is seeing when she looks out from the witness stand. on the one hand she has george zimmerman, the man who killed her friend, and on the other hand she has the parents of trayvon. >> exactly. in addition to that, she has got the defense attorneys, the prosecution attorneys area did -- defense attorneys. that is not a normal environment for a 19-year-old african- miami.n girl from she was uncomfortable. i think she was uncomfortable being almost chastised and judged on a very public scale. >> i want to ask you about the jury itself. tree selection is so important. did the prosecution seek to remove african-americans from

the jury? how to the process work? >> i think the process was very detailed in and of itself. i think there were a lot of --eral questions to feral feel out the jury. i won't say to get rid of african-americans, but definitely eliminate any jury that would have the potential or would empathize with trayvon martin and his family. there were investigations into whether or not there were any jurors potentially who had liked facebook pages or following social media accounts, who had posted on facebook pages or signed petitions. i believe one juror was dismissed because of facebook association, whether was being a member of a pro-trayvon facebook group or just signing on the

page or liking the page. i think that was a huge goal for the defense in the jury selection. >> i want to play another clip of rachel jeantel as she is questioned by the defense attorney. she was asked to read a letter sent to trayvon martin's mother, describing what she allegedly heard on a phone call with trayvon moments before he was shot. she says she cannot read cursive handwriting. >> would you take a look at that copy of the letter and let me ask you a couple of questions about it? do you recognize that letter as being one that you said earlier was prepared to be given to ms. holton? >> yes. >> and that letter was prepared with the assistance of a friend of yours named francine? >> yes. what youu talked about

wanted to be in the letter with her and she helped write it in a way that was legible, correct? >> yes read >> but the content of the letter is yours. >> yes. trucks are you able to read that copy well enough that you can tell us if it is in fact the same letter? >> no. >> are you unable to read that at all? >> some of it. >> can you read any of the words on it? >> i don't understand. i don't read cursive. >> that is rachel jeantel. daniel cadet? as ar testimony for me woman of color was tough to watch. again, she was incredibly uncomfortable.

it was an uncomfortable environment for her. the subject matter was uncomfortable. all in all, facing her friend's killer was really tough. i think it was obvious she did not want to be involved. from the beginning she did not think she was going to be. she did not realize she was the last person to speak to trayvon. she made up her name and age read she lied about her age. she seemed very in over her head. >> let's play another clip of defense attorney don west questioning rachel on thursday. >> at that point he decided to approach this man and say, why are you following me? >> yes, sir. >> he could have just run home read >> he told me he was by his house are ready. >> of course you don't know if

you was telling you the truth or not. >> why would he need to lie about that, sir? >> maybe if you decided to assault george zimmerman, he did not want you to know about it. >> that is retarded, sir. that is retarded to do that, sir. trayvon did not know him. >> ok. >> that is rachel jeantel responding to don west. >> what you think is the impact of that testimony on the jury? >> twofold. i have to admit her point there is a good one. she was being very matter of fact. it does not make any sense for 17-year-old to confront a man he does not know who is following him. it could be dangerous. i think she was being very matter of fact about that. i think the effect her testimony is important and complicated. jurye talking about a

that is primarily white, so i think there are aspects of rachel's testimony in her demeanor that the jury is not going to understand. she seemed very deceptive. she seemed aggravated. she had an attitude. there was a lot of tension between her and don west. --hink that will present will be difficult for the jury to understand. on the other hand, she is a young woman. she is 19. i think there will be a little empathy with and all jury -- all woman jury for you and i think the jury will look at a young girl who lost her friend and sort of understood why she was acting the way she was acting, but i think it was conflicting because she was a bit sassy. >> it was interesting to see the conversation around why she did not call the police, which is a

very loaded question in the african-american community, feeling the police will help you or not. and when they said, why didn't you get coke she, i thought they would call me. that said, what are you talking about? first 48, tvatched show, and they always go to the last phone call on the phone. community,frican law-enforcement is not seen as an advocate. 90% of the time police are seen as the enemy. again, i don't think she wanted to get involved. i think she wanted to stay out of it. i think that will be the most difficult thing for the jury to understand because it is something that almost exclusive to the minority community, particularly the african- american community. i think for a lot of african americans watching the testimony, they were not surprise she didn't call the cops. >> she didn't know what happened. the phone went dead. >> she said she thought he was close enough to his home that

someone, particularly a family member, would help him. >> it was the first time pictures were shown of trayvon's body. >> and that was major, for multiple reasons. the first time he really got a sense of his body top--body type. lankier than i expected them to. this is the first time we got to compare his eyes to george zimmerman's. this was the first time we got to compare his size to george zimmerman's. the jurors really got to look and compare and they used a very large photos, so the jury was really able to get a sense of the 17 year and what he looked like. i think the defense really made an effort to portray trayvon as

the aggressor. i think having the photos helped put that in perspective, whether you see him as the aggressor or not. >> daniel cadet, we thank you for being here. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. when we come back, we will look at the immigration bill passed by the senate and the president obama's trip to south africa. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

>> this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. on thursday, the senate passed along the way to the controversial immigration reform creates a path to citizenship for millions of undocumented immigrants while also adding unprecedented new

border security measures. cheers erupted in the senate gallery after vice president joe biden read the vote tally. on this bill are 68, the nays are 32. the bill as amended is passed. clerk will call the roll. chanting. >> 14 republicans joined united democratic caucus in supporting the bill which is backed by the white house and could become one of the major legislative achievements of president obama second term. among the republicans who voted yes with senator john mccain of arizona. >> these are people who wanted to come to this country not because they wanted to do anything, but because they realize the american dream. that is what they risk their lives and gave their lives for. and they did so illegally

a are willing to pay a penalty for crossing our border illegally. but shouldn't we give them the same chance that we have given generation after generation of immigrants who have come to this country wave after wave of irish and italians and jews and poles? and now people from all over the world? shouldn't we do that? is in it in us to bring 11 the people out of the shadows that us to brings in in 11 million people out of the shadows? >> among the democrats who spoke just before the conference of immigration reform bill's passage was senator bob menendez, a member of the bipartisan gang of eight senators that crafted the measure. >> i come here thinking of what this bill will mean for families and thinking of my family, of my mother, who came from cuba. she worked hard and

made it possible for me to stand here today, one of 100 united states senators on the verge of passing a historic piece of legislation that she would have wanted me to vote for. a bipartisan compromise that will finally fix our system and bring 11 million immigrants out of the shadows. and not just the millions who have been here for years without status, but the millions more who have been waiting in line to be reunified with their families lawfully. when the moment comes to cast that vote, i will be casting it in memory of my mother. and for every immigrant like her. >> the senate bill included an amendment to the immigration reform bill that radically expands enforcement along the west-mexico border. the $46 billion measure would nearly double the number of border agents to 40,000, expand the use of drones, and construct around 700 miles of border fencing. a number of immigrant rights

groups voiced concerns the added security requirements were so extreme that they undermine the bill overall. at the senate bill was being voted on thursday, immigration advocates on a caravan across texas staged a die to protest the border militarization provision. six people were arrested in austin after they shut down traffic, blocking cars with giant cardboard fences representing the border wall. hi, everybody. >> if you're watching this, we were arrested today in austin, texas. >> the senate passed a bill that will turn our neighborhoods and borders into war zones. >> we are standing in solidarity to end a fence on the border, to in the separation of families, to gain respect and human dignity.

>> despite the increased border security measures added to the senate bill, it is unclear whether he can pass when it goes to the house. this is the house speaker john boehner speaking thursday. >> the house is not going to take up and vote on whatever the senate passes, but we are going to do our own bill through regular order and it will reflect the will of our majority and the will of the american people. and for any legislation, including the conference report, to pass the house, it has to have the support of the majority of our members. immigration reform has to be grounded in real border security. >> for more we're joined by lorella praeli, director of advocacy and policy at the united we dream coalition. she was among those cheering the senate's vote. in austin, texas, we're joined by fernando garcia, founding

director of the border network for human rights. he was arrested earlier this week outside the democrats headquarters in dallas to protest the party's approval the increased border militarization reedit that began in washington to see -- washington, d.c., lorella praeli, why are you supporting this bill? >> it is a pleasure to be back. i think we came into the fight understanding this is a compromise and that we not necessarily support all compromises, but we were looking at whether or not this bill protected what was at the core of the compromise. that was really to make sure people had a pathway to citizenship, that 11 million members of our community can step out of the shadows and be on that pathway. the familyking at reunification peace, definitely looking at the pathway to citizenship and the dreamer provision. at the end, we had to make a hard calculation in a difficult decision, especially because we

had a community outraged by the corporate deal and the overdrive for border militarization. but that is why we were in this. we understand this is not a fight of only 2013, but a very long fight to secure justice and dignity and respect for communities. this is kind of where we are now, and we're definitely gearing up to continue the fight. --fernando garcia, this is the cost of this bill is astronomical. $5 billionout as for border security, now they're talking $46 billion. a lot of these defense companies are having a field day now and border security. >> yes. this is a historic moment i will say, but also very difficult moment for border communities.

bordersay increasing enforcement is not necessarily so. this is not just an additional few resources or staff, but this is a massive, massive endeavor at the border reedit we are talking about doubling border patrol members from 20,000 to 40,000. the only other border that has close to 40,000 soldiers is north and south korea. so we're going to have one of the most militarized borders in the world. there is compromise and there is compromise. we believe this compromise [indiscernible]

we have been fighting for more .han 15 years for legalization but this went overboard. this is a high price to pay for border communities. >> this is bob corker describing the amendment that was part of the bill passed on thursday. >> it doubles the number of border patrol agents on our southern border. we are adding $4.5 billion worth of technology that order patrol has been trying to get for years reedit bought and paid for in this bill. we are adding an entry/exit fee said that has to be fully in place. fore adding e-verify every employer in the country and adding 350 miles of fencing. people are saying, we don't know if this will ever happen. you should read the triggers.

if it doesn't happen, nobody gets a green card, ok? every american can see whether this is happening. >> lorella praeli, respond to that and also to the fact this is only the senate version. if something comes out of the house, it is bound to be worse than this bill being passed right now by the senate. >> yes, i think i can start with the senate proposal. what they are saying is, what were really looking at is, they are going to have this 90% border a person shouldn't -- apprehension rate. the mm it that senator corman had on the table, that many others wanted, and that is something immigrant rights community strongly, collectively refuse to accept and i think united we dream and

dreamers were very clear in stating any hard trigger would mean we would actively work to reject the immigration reform proposal. i think this is not fundamentally changed the structure of the trigger requirement, so the undocumented community can have access to the pathway to citizenship. i think going into the cop -- the conversation is going to get heated and interesting. i wrote down when he played the clip of speaker boehner and he said, our own bill will go through regular order. to me that is interesting because the question really is on the leadership at this point, what is the leadership of the house going to do. this is kind of a big test. it is not the best bill, it is comprehensive that has a pathway to citizenship for potentially 11 million people. i think the gop's effort to rebrand themselves is going to be a test that we move into the house.

i have serious concerns with speaker boehner's comments about this bill going through regular order, especially if we look at what the house is done in the last three weeks. the republican caucus voted to define the deferred action for childhood rivals program that stop the deportation of dreamers and giving them access to a work permit. they have marked through the house judiciary committee the safe act, or what we call the haight act and are committed he, that would criminalize our communities. that is the message the gop and the house once dissent to the latino community, to to voters in america, to the immigrant community, i think they are in real trouble. >> fernando, what does your group plan to do now? the battle moves to the house. what are your next steps? a that me say first, this was

politically calculated decision that i was taking on the senate side. we believe both parties are responsible of militarization of our border communities. .t is moving into the house it is going to get worse. i think we are not expecting anything better. in terms of enforcement, it is going to go down. i think it is going to get worse. they believe it is important to say on the border, it is not just a piece of land with nothing reedit. we have citizens, residents. they are not being consulted. they're not being taken into consideration. will militarized my neighborhood, my families, my city. this is a game changer. the fact this amendment was in

the final passage of the bill. it will get worse in the house. we will have conference of reform, but not what we were looking for. oneever wanted to sacrifice community for the other, and that is what is happening right now. we will clearly work [indiscernible] we are going to try to push for legalization for the dream act and pat to citizenship, but we will fight back on this militarization. what is the message we're sending to the rest of the world, that the only way we can move into having immigration reform is militarizing a sector of our american communities, a piece of american soil? i think that is not the way to go. >> fernando garcia and lorella praeli, thank you for joining

us. fernando was arrested in austin with others as he protested the legislation passing through congress. lorella praeli, united we dream coalition, speaking to us from washington dc when we come back, we will be joined by professor horace campbell will talk about president obama's trip to africa, his second since becoming president. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

>> this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. we turn now to president obama's three nation tour of africa. he arrived today in south africa after visiting senegal, where he stopped at goree island, the port from where african slaves were forcibly sent to the united states. obama reflected on the significance of the visit him and his family. >> obviously, it is a very powerful moment whenever i can travel with my family, but especially for michele and my children, my mother-in-law to be able to come here and fully appreciate the magnitude of the slave trade, to get a sense in a very intimate way of the incredible inhumanity and hardship that people faced before they made the passage,

crossing. he has called nelson mandela a hero for the world in a lifelong inspiration. for more we're joined by professor horace campbell from syracuse university. his new book is called, "global nato and the catastrophic failure in libya." horace campbell he recently wrote an article for counterpunch called, "the imperial tour: militarism and plunder." context forgive obama's trip to africa. for faster, welcome back to democracy now! talk about the significance. it is president obama's second trip since becoming president. >> thank you for allowing us to speak about this moment when we are all praying for the health and well-being of president

mandela. this tour by barack obama comes as the most inopportune moment for the people of africa because this is diverting attention at the moment when we wanted to focus our energies on supporting the health and well- being of mandela. secondly, the obama trip to africa does not bring anything to the african people. in your segment in discussing the immigration in this country, we heard from our brothers and sisters about the militarization of the border reedit obama has gone to africa with those publicly denouncing the militarization of africa attended by the united states africa command. in the past two years, obama has sought to retreat from the

command by not mentioning the u.s. africa command and saying they want a paradigm shift in terms of moving toward investment and trade. but the united states of america is in the midst of a massive financial and economic crisis, and they do not have investment and trade offer africa. they cannot compete with the rising powers of the world -- was ill, india, and china. especially china read when the chinese president came to africa, and obama is visiting two countries he visited, they offer $20 billion in new investment in africa and in tanzania alone, they offer $10 million in infrastructure development. chinese trade with africa has multiplied 20 times in the past 10 years from $10 billion to $198 billion. so the u.s. in the midst of a

financial crisis, in the midst of sequestration, has nothing to offer. must importantly, the obama going to goree island yesterday, this was a moment when barack obama could have made a statement to the reparations movement of the world when he stood at the door with thisrn, obama little background by human rights, spoke about human rights at goree island when he should be speaking about human life. because the enslavement of the african persons was about the destruction of human life. it was about the devaluation of africans as human beings. sayobama could only phrases about this reminded him about human rights. the reparations movement is saying to the world, the

transatlantic slave trade represented a crime against humanity and that peace movement, the demilitarization movement, reparations movement, has to see this moment as a: nation of the contradictions of the united states on policies toward africa. >> we have a couple of minutes about the importance of the aid china has been giving in terms of and for structure development versus the investment of american companies and extractive industries in africa? >> the chinese have been involved in africa as part of the global expansion. in fact, one has to see the relations between china and africa in terms of china's reach into europe, asia, latin america and in africa, and in

this reach the chinese are way ahead in terms of their planning for economic transformation. which we must remind the audience, was based on principles of socialist planning. there is a struggle going inside of china between the different branches of the communist party, but one should remind the audience that the ruling party in china is a communist party. in the past 10 years, the chinese have signed infrastructure for resources deals that 20 african countries. these deals mean that a country such as angola was able to get around the bullying tactics of the international monetary fund and the world bank. so this for structure projects of the chinese and africa has changed africa to the point where the african economies are no -- known as a leading edge

of transformation. and what one needs in africa is to promote the revolutionary processes that started in egypt so that one can remove those governments in africa that are an obstacle to the economic and political transformation in africa. as the young people of tunisia and egypt said, it is time to change the political system. and all over the world, young people of brazil, turkey, are on the streets on for people in the political system. so although the chinese have invested in infrastructure infrastructure, in africa, there is a problem in that political leadership. there's been an obstacle to the reconstruction of african societies to make it more responsive to the needs of africa so that those resources that are in africa can serve the needs of the people. >> i want to ask you to stay after the show where we will do a post-show interview and post online at democracynow.org. democracy now! is looking for

feedback from people who appreciate the closed captioning. e-mail your comments to outreach@democracynow.org or mail them to democracy now! p.o. box 693 new york, new york 10013. [captioning made possible by democracy now!]